3 Steps to the Greatest Pasta Meat Sauce of All Time

Breaking news: You never have to spend all Sunday simmering a pasta sauce ever again. (Unless you want to, which is totally cool).

Meet our 15-minute meat sauce, which has all of the flavor of something your Italian grandmother would cook, and none of the arm-cramping (all that stirring!) labor.

How is it possible to cut out hours worth the cooking time? Associate food editor Anna Stockwell breaks down the keys to her quick meat sauce:

The Food Processor is Your Friend

One thing that takes a lot of time when you're making a traditional ragu? All of that chopping and dicing. Solution: Break out that food processor. "You don't get those nice perfectly square pieces of carrot," says Anna. "But you do get uniform, small pieces that are perfect for a rustic, homemade pasta sauce like this one."

Two Meats are Better Than One

The first time Anna took a stab at making what eventually became this killer meat sauce, she was looking for a substitute for pancetta. Bacon was a natural first choice (because everything's better with it), but it ended up overwhelming the sauce. "So I switched to a 50/50 mix of pork and beef," says Anna. "The result had a bit more fat, making it better than straight beef, which can turn out a little tough."

Amp Up the Flavor With Wine and Fried Tomato Paste

Three ingredients were key in taking the sauce's flavor to 11: a splash of red wine and a bit of pan-fried tomato paste. These additions both add instant depth, which is what gives the flavor of a long-simmered sauce, with (almost) none of the work. The third ingredient? Butter. Because...it's butter. (And because it provides a finishing touch of silky creaminess.)